Retreat
by scottishfae
Summary: The Host Club goes to an onsen for one of their vacations. Mori x Haruhi small, drabbleish, hard to summarise


Title: Retreat

Author: scottishfae

Pairing: Mori x Haruhi

Rating: G-

All Standard Disclaimers Apply

This is pretty much just an experiment for me, I'm still not comfortable w. the characterisation of the characters in Ouran, so this is pretty bad (and very fluffy). I'm going to try again. I think some of the difficulty lies in the fact that Mori is a hard guy to write about b.c he just doesn't actually do or say anything. But then again, those things he does say or act on, mean a lot more. So um, this attempt #1, it's pretty bad.

This is a gift fic for incandescence and I'm dedicating it to miakamouse for writing a Mori x Haruhi fic after my request. I'm sorry this isn't any good, but hopefully they'll improve.

Part of the challenge of this fic was that it be set at a hotspring and that the phrase "because, of course, chicken and banana makes a perfect blend" be used. Enjoy.

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Low, dark clouds threatened rain and everything in the mountainside forest seemed to be preparing for it. A pregnant silence fell upon the area, infiltrating the last remains of the morning fog that still covered the ground. The sun still crept through the clouds in places, shining isolated rays down upon certain areas, one of which included the onsen resort built in the side of the mountain.

Owned by the Ootori family, for "medicinal relaxation", the luxurious spa was top of the line in every way possible. With some people waiting years to get reservations to come for the first class treatment and exceptional food, it came to a surprise to most that the onsen was shut down for the exclusive use by a group of high school boys: the Ouran High School Host Club.

Haruhi sat on the edge of the raised wooden platform. Just in front of her lay a small, serene garden with various steaming pools popping up between well thought out flora. The fog was just now lifting, but the very edge of the fenced in garden was still invisible to her. The clouds overhead only allowed minimal light as the sun continued to struggle to force its way through the gray abyss. Sound seemed to be muffled from the outside world and the boisterous noises of the twins and Tamaki echoed through the hallways.

She had been excited to learn that a part of their vacation would be spent at an onsen. She had never been before and it was quite possibly a once in a lifetime experience. However, she had not taken into consideration that going to any place with the other host club members that was _supposed_ to be relaxing would be anything but. Not once had she been able to escape the shrill calls of Tamaki's voice or mischievous antics of Kaoru and Hikaru. Even Hunny-senpai's adorable disposition was beginning to sour her mood.

"Haruhi," a deep voice called.

"Hai?" she called back.

The inside shoji door, the one connected to the interior hallway, opened and she listened to the steady padding of feet before the outside door was slid open. Mori stood there, calm and unreadable as usual, looking down at her as she continued to stare out at the garden before her.

Haruhi was acutely aware of his presence. Staring down at her as he stood in the doorframe. His deep baritone voice had caused butterflies to surge in her stomach and his being so near did nothing to stop their fluttering. It was making her nauseous.

He stepped forward, after a few minutes of just staring, and walked right behind her. With the grace of any martial arts expert, he sat down behind her, legs on either side of her smaller body. He sat a cup down next to them; it's steam billowing up and disappearing into the continually fading light.

"It looks like rain," she said, flustered that he was so intimately near.

"Hai."

"W-where's Hunny-senpai?" she asked.

Her hands were twisting the long sleeves of her yukata as she struggled to keep her eyes forward. It did not escape her notice that the way Mori was sitting opened his own yukata, leaving his legs bare by her sides. She swallowed nervously.

Mori never answered her, but in the distance she could hear the telltale squeals of the hyperactive senior as he took a bath in one of the open air springs. More than likely most of the group was trying to relax some in those particular baths before the approaching rain would make them retreat indoors.

"Drink," he said, motioning slightly to the cup.

Haruhi's eyes fluttered down to stare at the pale leg on her right. Fine, black hairs covered his leg, stopping before it met his hip. She blushed furiously as her eyes caught the white flesh of the inside of his thigh and the unclad hip that was just visible under the yukata. He was not wearing anything underneath his clothing.

She moved her hand cautiously down to the cup that was at their side. Her fingers brushed his legs, she pulled her hands back hastily. Haruhi watched fascinated as the muscles under his skin jumped from the brief contact. Mori laughed quietly, the low sound reverberating against Haruhi's back, making her draw a breath.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered, her breath still unsteady.

He extended his right hand to grasp hers. Moving it down, he placed it on the cup, his large hand capturing hers around it. She took a breath in, watching carefully as their joined hands brought the cup up and brought it to her lips. "Drink."

Haruhi obeyed, taking a cautious sip of the steaming liquid. It was a bitter tea and it stung her tongue and throat as it washed over and down. Mori grunted as he peered down at her and watched her swallow some more of the drink. He shifted his hand on hers, improving his grip, before bringing the cup back down to rest on the ground beside them. He manually released her grip from the cup before intertwining their fingers and bringing them to rest in her lap. His other arm snuck around her waist and pulled her more tightly to his form.

She relaxed in the hold, leaning back and letting his calm breaths wash over her. His thumb began tracing small circles over the top of her hand, stopping every once in a while and then reversing. The sounds of their friends were dieing down, possibly because they were retreating inside. The clouds had begun to open up and a slight drizzle was raining down.

Mori moved, placing his feet flat on the walkway, and, with ease, lifted Haruhi up onto the covered area so that her legs wouldn't get wet. He released her once he was sure she was steady but did not make a move to step away. There was barely a breath between them and Haruhi unconsciously leaned forward to catch more of the heat his body emanated.

A small smile spread over his face and brought an arm to wrap around her waist. They both stood staring out in the rain, comfortable being so close, and yet both a bit nervous.

Hunny-senpai stood at the entrance to the room, looking straight through to the outside where the two stood. A smile, genuine and without any of the imposed childishness, crossed his face. Kyoya walked up behind him and smirked. He adjusted his glasses and opened his notebook to begin jotting a few things down. Kaoru and Hikaru bounded into the room followed closely by Tamaki. They all froze as they watched Haruhi nervously step back, her cheeks coloured pink. Mori looked at the rest of the group, his face unreadable as always.

The twins immediately began to tease their classmate and she sunk to the floor at their jaunts. Tamaki was wailing, disappointed that he wasn't her chosen prince. The two seniors looked at each other and Hunny gave a radiant smile. Mori echoed in his own way, simple and direct.

He moved over to where Haruhi was hunched against the poll, trying to argue her way out of the cornered state the twins had her in. The rain had started to pour now and the temperature was dropping. Mori made his way between the twins and held out his hand for Haruhi. "Come," he said simply.

She gave a small smile of relief and took his offered hand. Without releasing it, he led her into the room then to the inner hallway, away from the rain. Hunny followed, cheerfully dancing around the two.

"I believe that it's time for lunch," Kyoya said to interrupt the confused silence. "I hear the chefs have prepared some lovely new dishes for us."

Kaoru and Hikaru looked over to Kyoya with a blank expression. "You're using us a guinea pigs again," they said together.

Kyoya simply smiled and motioned for them to follow him. "It should be very good."

"And why do you say that?" Hikaru said, his tone bored.

"Because chicken and bananas make a perfect blend."

Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru stopped dead in their tracks. They stared at Kyoya's retreating back, his shoulders shaking lightly. Looking at each other, they gulped, and decided to turn around and hunt through their own stashes of food. The others could fend for themselves.

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